Being a doctor mom is a beautiful paradox of feeling like a badass one moment and a frazzled I-don’t-know-what-the-heck-I-am-doing mess of a person. Being a female physician, the majority of us feel there is a societal and cultural pressure to be perfect all the time in every sphere of our life: as a professional, parent, and person.
Speaking with my friends who are also doctor moms, there are some common themes and challenges.
1. Work often comes first and may not end when you leave the office
Unlike other careers, our work as physicians don’t doesn’t end when you leave the office. We are on ......

Moving around is one of the best-documented means of having a positive impact on overall health. For moms juggling a hectic lifestyle, keeping in mind that research has shown 15 minutes a day spent walking can help reduce the risk of nearly every major disease. Understanding some of the most basic aspects of how your body recovers and grows stronger from exercise can help you stay fit while juggling the many challenges of motherhood!
The Science of Maximizing Workout Impact
Working out is simple enough—understanding how to maximize the benefits of working out can be a bit more difficult. Diet......

February is Heart Health Month; a time when we increase awareness about the effects of heart disease, especially in women. We know the statistics all too well. 1 out of 3 women die each year from heart disease. We also know that heart disease is preventable. We encourage our patients to take care of their hearts by reducing their blood pressure and cholesterol levels, by eating healthy, exercising and reducing their stress level. How much of this advice do we take on ourselves. When was the last time you checked in with yourself? How much stress are you dealing with right now? Stress is hard t......

In my last blog post, I talked about the 4 R’s to finding work-life fulfillment. The first R was to Reassess. You were asked to spend some quiet time alone, reflect on the various areas of your life and determine if your current work-life situation supported the lifestyle you desired. What did this exercise reveal to you? Were there any surprises? As you continue to reflect on these questions and the changes you would like to make, make sure you have the resources to help you get through this stage of your self-development. Here are the 6 things physician moms need in their toolbox to achieve ......

From the moment, you became a physician and mom you were looking forward to the journey and joy of being a mother and serving others. As you reflect on your life’s journey in the New Year, you should commend yourself for the accomplishments and goals that you achieved. This year is a time to reflect on the changes that you would like to make in your work and personal life. How can you improve on integrating the demands of work and the responsibilities of home? How do you make time for connecting with loved ones, when your career has a demanding schedule? Most importantly how do you make ......

When you first decided to become a doctor, it may have felt like a calling, but a medical career can soon overtake your entire life, consume every minute of your day, use up all your energy, stretch your patience to the limit, demand your constant attention, and start taking a toll on your relationships.
Before you know it, you're staring burnout in the face. The career that was going to afford you a fulfilling life has quickly become the thing that consumes it.
But, all is not lost. Achieving that elusive work-life balance in your medical career is not impossible. In fact, it could be as ea......

A nanny will cost anywhere from $15 to $25 an hour depending on their expertise and where you live. Au pairs, or live in nannies from another country, average out to be $7.85 an hour for the 45 hours they work a week. Daycares can be comparable in price to getting an au pair, depending on the location and number of children.The main difference in cost between an au pair and daycare is a larger bulk of the childcare costs comes at the beginning of the year to two-year stay with the family. Compare childcare costs in your area with Go Au Pair’s interactive map of average childcare......

No matter their jobs or ambitions, nearly all parents need to work hard to maintain work/life balance. This can be even more difficult when working to balance parenting with the demands of medical school. The good news is, many parents have taken on the challenge before and managed to take care of children while pursuing their education. Here are a few of the tips that have helped many moms make it work:
Create a solid support system.
Many parents have or raise children while pursuing their education. Find the people in your classes who are also parents. You can share stories, help one anoth......

Between your long hospital shifts, 2 year old throwing tantrums, dinner, cleaning house, 5 year old with another cold, phone calls, dishes, grocery shopping, bills, emails, studying for the boards, house repairs… when does the list ever end? There has to be a way to schedule in a little time for self. For me for the past six years of trying to keep up with work and my young kids - I’ve decided there is no personal time unless you make it happen.
Every mom needs a break from "the crazy" only children can create, but MD moms – they need sanity and personal time even more. Their sacrifice ......

Sarah Maulden was desperate to find a way to help out her little girl who was having a tremendous amount of anxiety going to school everyday. Sarah's daughter didn’t feel like she fit in and there were kids there making it even harder for her to want to be there.
Sarah and her husband are both doctors from Utah. They began searching for another school, but the thought of a private school also caused anxiety for their daughter. Sarah took a leap of faith and signed up for an online school you can do from home. “With the online classes all the material is laid out in a course-by-course breakd......

Loan Kline and her husband are both physicians. They also have triplets, three boys who are five years old. With such a big job at home and at the office – Loan knew she would have to choose her childcare provider very carefully.
“Like every full time working mother, I face the same challenges as all mothers do- how to get it all done? The cooking, the cleaning, the laundry, the baths, the lunches, the school drop offs/pick ups, the volunteering, the homework, and being present “in the moment” for your child.”
“On top of that, I have to worry abou......

There is no question if medical school is a sacrifice - to your time, your sanity, your relationships and especially for close relationships who happen to be a small toddler or two.
There isn’t a MDmom with young children who hasn’t had to question her decision to choose medicine as a career at some point. Is it worth the sacrifice? Am I ruining my children? The long hours and copious amounts of studying required is doable, but am I hurting the kids?
Making the decision to follow your dream as a doctor to save lives and heal, is not a bad decision. But looking at it from a childc......

Any mom who is a practicing doctor knows finding the right childcare is unbelievably difficult, especially for the overnight shifts and sudden trips to the ER.
As a single mom starting medical school, Irene of Ohio, had a lot to think about. Babysitters and day cares were just not going to be the right fit. She needed some afterhours help and she needed someone who can step in at a moments notice if she had to run to the ER. After Irene did a lot of research she knew getting an Au Pair was the right childcare for her situation.
Overall Irene says the Au Pair cultural childcar......

Today I want to share with you an example that made me sad to listen to but at the same time, it reiterates the importance of physicians gaining new perspectives in short conversations.
Last week I spoke with a gynecologist in private practice who told me that he couldn’t remember the last time he took a vacation. His wife and children frequently travel to the beach and overseas, but he just cannot take time off from his practice. When I asked him how he felt about not having vacations, he replied that he is glad that he can provide this lifestyle to his family, but sometimes he does feel res......

1. You get called ‘nurse’ or 'sweetie' 3x a day, despite your embroidered white coat clearly spelling out “Dr. ___." You love your nurses - but you did put a good amount of time and money into getting your title, and it'd be nice to hear it from time to time!
2. You can never find a small enough pair of gloves in your procedure rooms.
3. You are looking for a 'part time' position which will allow you to work only 40 hours a week.
4. You wear your hair down for work and everyone asks if you have a date.
5. You've been asked totally inappropria......

We all know how hard it is to become a doctor - we give up so much of our youth, our family time, and ourselves to get there. Women physicians, however, also tend to sacrifice a lot of what makes them feminine. It sometimes feels like there's an unwritten rule that states that in order to advance professionally, we have to leave our home life at the doors of our offices/hospitals. Many female physicians will admit to downplaying the importance of their families in their professional lives, for fear that people will take them less seriously.
Why is it that we feel this? &nbsp......

Thanksgiving is behind us. For many people, this is now the time where everything gets busier even though this is supposed to be the quiet, reflective time of the year. Just yesterday I talked with a physician who has clear signs of burnout and mental exhaustion and she doesn't want anything more than work-life balance and a break from all the chaos and overwhelm. When I asked her when she is ready to make some healthy changes, she told me that she doesn’t have the time right now due to all the holiday obligations. She mentioned all the reasons and excuses why she had to chase her to-do list a......